Regular Giving Fundraising Officer

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Regular Giving Fundraising Officer

Job Title: Regular Giving Fundraising Officer Location: Merton College Department: Development Office Contract Type: Permanent Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week Salary: £35,000 to £40,000 per annum depending on skills and experience.
Merton College Merton College is one of the oldest Colleges in the University of Oxford. Founded in 1264, Merton marked its 750thanniversary in 2014. It is a self-governing institution and a registered charity in which the ultimate authority for all decisions rests with the current Warden and Fellows who are its trustees and form the Governing Body. Merton has in the region of 600 students, comprising undergraduates and graduates.

The Development & Alumni Relations team is well-established at Merton and comprises a Development Director, Deputy Development Director, a Regular Giving Fundraising Officer, an Alumni Relations Manager, a Data Insights & Operations Manager, an Events Executive and a Graduate Associate in Development, the latter being a one-year fixed term appointment.

More information on Merton College can be found on the website

Main purpose of the role This is a central position within the Development Office team, offering the postholder an opportunity to develop skills in donor acquisition and long-term engagement. It would suit a candidate looking to take the next step in their career, who has already enjoyed some success and is seeking greater responsibility, and has had some experience with regular giving vehicles, telethon campaigns, and direct mail.

The post holder will build on the College’s regular giving programme, raising funds through targeted direct mail and email appeals, telephone fundraising appeals and with the potential for online campaigns. The post holder will also support gift processing and reporting and develop fundraising literature.

The successful candidate will be highly motivated and have a proven knowledge of fundraising techniques in relation to regular giving. They will need to demonstrate close attention to detail, a sound understanding of the issues relating to data protection, and2 an openness to innovative regular giving techniques. As a fundraising role within the team, the post holder will agree a financial target as part of their annual objectives.

This is a role that could prepare the successful candidate for a more senior position within a Development Office environment.

Key relationships  Development Director & Deputy Development Director  Members of the Development team  Fellows, College Officers and College staff  Alumni volunteers, including members of the Development Committee  Donors, alumni and friends of the College

Main duties and responsibilities To be responsible for managing the annual fundraising campaign and associated appeals, including the identification, solicitation and stewardship of donors making gifts of up to £10,000 each year. Duties will include:

1. Regular giving programme and fundraising a. To lead on the solicitation of donors by means of the annual telephone campaign, postal and digital mailings and any other means of appropriate fundraising activity. b. To manage, organise and develop the College’s telephone fundraising campaigns, in liaison with a telephone fundraising consultancy company or in house. This will include pre- and post-campaign administration, communications via email, extensive data work, the recruitment and training of student callers, management of the call room, tracking outstanding pledges and organising pledge chase mailings and gift processing. Given the volume of tasks, assistance can be sought from other members of the Development team. c. To have primary responsibility over data management for any regular giving campaign, with support from the Data Insights & Operations Manager. d. To apply donor segmentation techniques to tailor messaging and improve campaign outcomes. e. To develop and drive a strong rate of giving (‘participation rate’) and to continue to work to ensure a good annual level of new funds raised. f. To promote regular giving among alumni of the College and any other constituent groups associated with the College.
2. Regular giving strategy a. To develop, review and oversee the regular giving strategy for the College by working with the Development Director and Deputy Development Director to achieve maximum long-term secured income for the College. b. To lead on the delivery of direct mailing campaigns and other relevant documentation, including the writing of engaging fundraising copy for digital and print appeals.3 c. To be responsible for the regular giving expenditure budget alongside the Development Director and ensure that the agreed fundraising income targets are realistic and achievable. d. To work with the Alumni Communications Officer and other colleagues to raise awareness and understanding of the benefits of an annual fundraising programme and to enhance the overall culture of support and giving to the College. e. To liaise with the annual fund activity of the Merton College Charitable Corporation (MC3) to provide a tailored approach for fundraising in North America and, from time to time when appropriate, other global regions. f. To keep abreast of good practice in regular giving within the Oxford community and Higher Education sector as a whole.
3. Fundraising case for support and messaging a. To contribute to the fundraising case for support narrative that complements and enhances other activities undertaken by the Development Office. b. To contribute towards creating fundraising literature and other relevant documentation, including donation forms, and liaise with external suppliers for print needs. c. To maintain the College’s website content within the donation space, uploading cases for support and ensuring giving links are current and accessible.
4. Programme administration, reporting and stewardship a. To manage and develop the 1264 Society to increase annual giving and draw major prospects through the giving pipeline, and to lead on 1264 stewardship events. b. To assist the Data Insights & Operations Manager and the Development Director with the production of regular reports for Committees. c. To ensure that donors are stewarded actively and appropriately through, for example, thank you letters and cards. d. To renew lapsed donors through identification, cultivation and stewardship plans. e. To work with the Graduate Associate in Development to support the annual JCR Leavers’ Gift and MCR Posterity Gift. f. To oversee gift processing for gifts up to £10k, and to assist the Data Insights & Operations Manager with gift processing, as required.
5. Other a. To take an active role in the Development Office by contributing to wider departmental plans and strategy as appropriate. b. To be available to work flexibly in order to attend occasional events to cultivate potential donors and to steward visiting donors, as required (for which the post holder can accumulate time off in lieu). c. To undertake any other duties that may reasonably be requested by the Development Director appropriate to the level of the post.4 Person specification: Skills, Qualifications and Experience Essential  A proven track record and experience of regular giving vehicles with strong knowledge of Annual Fund, telethon campaigning and direct mail.  Strong self-motivation and the ability to work as a good team player.  Very good organisational skills and a high level of attention to detail, with the ability to prioritise in a fast-moving environment and manage multiple tasks.  Experience of fundraising or a similar role, such as alumni relations or marketing.  Excellent written and oral communication skills and interpersonal skills.  Excellent IT skills, including competence with spread sheets and databases

(preferably DARS).  A confident and friendly approach and the ability to engage and work successfully with a variety of different constituencies, both internally (Fellows, staff and students) and externally (alumni and friends of the College).

Desirable  Educated to degree level or equivalent professional experience.  Knowledge and experience of the University of Oxford or the Higher Education sector.  Experience of recruiting and working with volunteers.

Location The position is based at Merton College, Oxford, with the occasional requirement to attend events elsewhere in the UK.

Salary and benefits The salary offered for full-time appointment to this job will be in the range of £35,000 to £40,000 per annum depending on skills and experience. There is an annual ‘cost-of-living’ salary review, which normally takes place in the summer each year.

Weekly hours of work for a full-time post are 35 hours, normally between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday in the office with an unpaid lunch break. There is flexibility for the postholder to start earlier or later in order to travel to College and some home working may be possible in this role. However, the post holder will need to have a flexible approach to working hours in order to support some activities that are outside these times.

The post holder is eligible for membership of the University of Oxford Staff Pension Scheme (OSPS), which is a contributory scheme, free medical insurance (which is assessable as a taxable benefit),30 days holiday per year (excluding bank holidays), free car parking, meals in College when on duty, cycle to work and electric car schemes and loans for the purchase of seasonal travel passes. The College has a gym, which is free to use for staff and there are a number of organised activities such as yoga and circuit training that are also free for staff.

Application Process5 Those wishing to apply for this post should complete the online application form at and e mail the following documents as a single pdf document to [email protected] in the named format ‘Last Name First Name Application’:

o A detailed covering letter outlining their motivation for applying and how their skills and experience equip them to undertake the role. o A CV.

Please put your last name and ‘Regular Giving Fundraising Officer’ in the subject line of the e mail.

Applications will be reviewed on receipt and early application is encouraged.

The closing date is 9.00 am on Monday, 22ndSeptember 2025.

Candidates are encouraged to complete an Equal Opportunities Recruitment Monitoring form at the end of the Application form. The information collected on the equal opportunities recruitment monitoring form does not form part of the selection process and will not be circulated to the selection panel. It will be used solely to monitor the effectiveness of the College’s Single Equality Scheme which is published at

It is anticipated that interviews will be held from week commencing 29thSeptember 2025.

For an informal discussion about the role before application please contact Mark Coote, Development Director at [email protected]

This appointment will be determined only by personal merit and the application of criteria related to the duties of the post. No applicant will be treated less favourably than another because of sex, gender re-assignment, marital status or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, racial group, disability, age, religion and beliefs or sexual orientation.

Merton College is an equal opportunities employer Merton College is a registered charity (1139022)